Blissful Reprieve
by The Neliel Tu
Summary: Shuuhei x Matsumoto fluff. Shuuhei's overworked, Matsumoto gets him to take a break and do some drinking with her. One shot, or is it? Rating may change...


_Shuuhei x Matsumoto fluff! _

_This was written for SweetYuya! I'm sorry it took me so long! -bonks head on keyboard- I finally shocked that muse of mine back to life. And this is what I got! _

_I hope you enjoy it!_

** --**

** Blissful Reprieve**

Being a lieutenant had never been so hard.

Granted, it had never exactly been easy, but having a captain who made sure all of the paper work, or at the least, most of it, was done left Hisagi Shuuhei with a great deal of spare time.

That was something he had begun to take for granted up until the point the three captains had defected, and moved off to Hueco Mundo.

Though the dwellers of the Seireitei tried desperately to hide it, they were devastated by the void left by those three traitors, some of them in more ways than one.

Shuuhei had expected responsibility, for he was a prodigy of sorts. After all, he had been carrying out missions since he was a mere student in the academy. He knew he had talent, though the fact that his captain had completed so much work and kept much of it to himself had made him grow used to that.

Now, he had so much paperwork to fill out, so many reports to file, and so much more work. It was rare to have a break.

It was on one such occasion, a long day of paperwork, that Matsumoto Rangiku wandered into his office.

"Aw, Shuuhei, you're always so hard at work! Come and take a break with me!" she told him, pouting. Really, she only wanted a drinking buddy, but how could Shuuhei refuse?

Hiding a blush by ducking his head and pretending to consider her offer, Shuuhei sighed. "I shouldn't. I have much work to complete." That would buy him some time, for the blush to at least diminish.

"But that's all you've been doing! Come, drink with me!" she begged, moving closer to his desk. Shuuhei was not about to refuse such an offer, and he set his paperwork aside, to be finished later.

"I suppose a little bit of drinking couldn't hurt anything." He shrugged.

"Yay!" Rangiku clapped her hands happily, grinning. "Let's go! Let's go!" she cried, bounding away, and he could only follow.

--

It wasn't until the fifth glass of saki that Shuuhei remembered that he had left his paperwork unfinished. There it would remain, until the morning. A break was needed, especially when it involved the company of Matsumoto.

"Ah…" he rubbed the back of his head, one of his eyes squinted shut as though he were in pain.

"What's the matter?" Rangiku's eyes were wide, and fluid.

"Huh? Nothin's the matter. Was just thinkin'." Shuuhei slurred. Maybe he'd had more than five glasses. He really couldn't remember now. All he knew was that he was rather drunk.

"'Bout what?" Rangiku was slurring, too.

"'Bout Tosen, the traitors. Still can't b'lieve they left us." He said in an awed tone. "I don' unnerstand why."

"Me neither." She returned, sprawling out on a couch. "He's a bas…bas…bastard!"

It was quite obvious whom Rangiku was referencing, and even in Shuuhei's half coherent state, he knew. The half that wasn't coherent was wrapping his arms around her, and she was leaning into the embrace, welcoming his arms, his warmth. The coherent half tried to keep from blushing, while the incoherent half could not care less.

Rangiku felt solace and comfort in his embrace, strangely, for it was something she had thought to never feel. It was something she wanted, but did not expect. She nestled her head on his shoulder, and dozed off for a while.

Shuuhei knew that she was asleep, but he did not mind. She was close to him, he could feel her heart beating, and he could feel her breath, warm on his neck. He enjoyed the feeling; he savored the warmth of her body. It was all he could ask for at that moment, but he did not mind waiting. He could be patient; he could be anything for Matsumoto.

She woke sometime later, to find that Shuuhei was also awake.

"Thank you, Shuuhei." She whispered dreamily, smiling up at him.

He brought his lips to her smiling ones, a small kiss to show that his gratitude outweighed hers. She found herself returning the kiss despite herself, and enjoying it. Her smile remained even after he pulled away, and she took in the blush that spread rapidly across his face.

"Thank you, Matsumoto." He returned, his smile matching hers.

Sometimes, a break was all one could ask for, when it brought one close to another in ways that hadn't been imagined possible.

--

_I could so add another chapter! But I don't know yet. It all depends. _

_Chii! Thanks for reading! Reviews would be loved! They always are! _


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